European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Observational Study
Clinical impression for identification of vulnerable older patients in the emergency department.
To investigate whether the clinical impression of vulnerability and the Dutch Safety Management Program (VMS), a screening instrument on four geriatric domains (activities in daily living, falls, malnutrition, delirium) are useful predictors of 1-year mortality in older patients in the emergency department. ⋯ The clinical impression of vulnerability is a simple dichotomous question which can be used as a first step in the identification of vulnerable older emergency department patients, whereas the more time-consuming VMS-screening is more specific for detection of vulnerability. The clinical impression of vulnerability is therefore useful in a busy emergency department environment where time and resources are limited.